USB Security Software Supported On Macs Now, Too

The best thing about USB drives is their portability. The worst thing can be the lack of security for your data on there.

EncryptStick comes either pre-loaded on a USB flash drive or as software you can download onto the drive yourself and the new Version 4.1 has dual support for Macintosh and Windows operating systems.

It's touted as a digital safe - one with several individual vaults the user can create, each potentially with its own password. So if you use your USB drive to keep a file that contains all your passwords, make sure you password-protect it.

The software can also be used on your computer, any removable device (such as a server or portable hard drive) or on writeable media, such as CDs, DVDs or SD memory cards.

Manufacturer Onix International says EncryptStick is unique because it uses a 512-bit polymorphic encryption — "a variable algorithm resistant to all known cryptanalytic attacks, which to this date remains unbroken with over 4 million downloads."



Seeing as Macs are no longer seemingly invulnerable to malware and the like, the compatibility with Apple computers is important, said Onix CEO Tyrone Phipps. That's why the company supported this iteration of the software for the Mac OS.

For Encrypted USB drives, the user plugs the drive into the computer port, which prompts the software to run automatically. After the user puts in his password, he can access any files, encrypting or decrypting them by either right-clicking and choosing the correct option from a drop-down menu or by dragging them into or out of the "vaults." Files can be edited without decrypting them, and does not leave a footprint on the host computer.

And if you lose your flash drive, you can use the application on your computer to make the files impenetrable, the company says.

A pre-loaded 4GB flash drive is $119.99, with support for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OSX, v 10.4 or higher. The software is available as a simple download for $39.99 and can be loaded onto any USB flash drive with a serial number.

Tags:  Apple, USB, security, Windows, Macs